I’ve been at the GSA Networx Conference in Chicago for the past few days, where we have been showing how high-definition video conferencing and mobile video products can increase collaboration among government employees regardless of the distance between them.

The show is as big as last year, if not bigger, and there has been a lot of traffic on the exhibit floor. The goal of the show has been to help federal, state and local IT professionals learn more about the latest network technologies and services that are enabling a global, fully interoperable, secure, and seamless government network services infrastructure.

During stops by our booth, we’ve heard some interesting tidbits, including hearing that attendees want ways to reduce their carbon footprint. There’s also been a big focus on unified communications, and how it can provide easier ways to streamline collaboration by allowing workers to use communication tools – desk phone, mobile phone, IM, video conferencing or another – and reach a colleague on any device they are using. With UC, your desktop phone and mobile phone are one and the same, for example, making it easier to find colleagues and collaborate with them to make agencies and organizations work more efficiently.

Attendees have had a lot of great educational opportunities here on a variety of topics, including complying with Homeland Security Presidential Directive (HSPD-12), which calls for a mandatory, government-wide standard for secure and reliable forms of identification issued by the federal government, to its employees and employees of federal contractors for access to federally-controlled facilities and networks.

After sessions, attendees are lured back to the show floor with the best brownies I’ve ever tasted – after all the brownie was invented in Chicago! It’s been a great week for learning from attendees and sharing information with them.

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